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King Benjamin
Benjamin Florian "Ben" is a character who appears in the Disney film Descendants, portrayed by Mitchell Hope. He is the son of Belle and Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Background Information Official Description :Poised to take the throne, he makes his first proclamation and offers a chance at redemption to Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay when they are given a chance to attend Auradon Prep. Unlike his peers, he does not fear the trouble-making teens and embraces them as friends while he helps them navigate the unfamiliar land where goodness runs rampant. Personality Ben is a sweet-natured teen that feels pity for the children of villains and was willing to give them a second chance when not even his own parents were willing to give them the chance. He seems to take after his father in looks and his mother in personality as he is more willing to see people past their appearances (similarly to how his mother saw beneath the Beast's exterior) along with having a love of reading and books and a gentle soul. In addition, out of all the AKs, he is the one most on the side of the VKs, usually being the first to approach and defend them and try to socialise and have a conversation with them, particularly with Mal. He seemed to have a fascination with Mal the moment he first saw her, and it seems the feeling is mutual especially since both had a dream about the other before their meeting. Even after being given a love potion by her, when it washed off he believed she loved him but didn't think it could happen by itself especially since he was dating Audrey at the time, he still grew to love her and wanted to be with her. He is very friendly and an honest person who believes in the good in others. He is fair and patient with the VKs, understanding that they have had it much rougher than others like at his school and willing to work with them and do whatever it took to have them trust him (such as helping Carlos with his dog phobia and eating a cookie Mal gave him). Despite this, he does seem to have low self confidence as he sometimes isn't sure if he is cut out to be king and wishes for his parents' particularly his father's) approval. He also believes who a person's parents are doesn't make them who they are and that is what makes him and Mal so similar. In Wicked World, he is shown to be mildly naive and a goody two shoes, becoming distraught after he broke a cup in episode 4 and offering to pay Freddie for damages and in episode 5 when he and the others were transported into Jordan's lamp, he concluded they must be tiny (showing he is slightly slow). He is also a gentleman, once offering to take off his jacket and put it over a puddle of mud so Audrey, Mal, and Evie wouldn't get dirty. He also seems to be influenced by Mal as he lied to Jay to get him to stop bugging him in episode 10, causing Mal to feel further attracted to him. Overall, he is a kind compassionate intelligent person willing to give anyone and everyone a chance. On a side note, despite being the main prince in the franchise, he takes on the role that is more typical of a princess (or rather the role of his mother) as he tends to be kidnapped like in episode 16 of Wicked World and when Maleficent froze everyone he tried to save them but Mal, Carlos, Evie, and Jay were the ones to save everyone. Physical Appearance Ben is a 16-years-old teenager by the end of Descendants. He has brown hair with golden streaks in-between. His eyes are hazel-green. Powers & Abilities Ben does not possess any special powers as he is not descended from a magical bloodline. Therefore, Ben is capable of the following: *'Statesmanship': This is essential for Ben's role as ruler of Auradon. *'Athlete': Ben is skilled in various sports, such as: **'Tourney': He is the captain of Auradon Prep's Tourney team. **'Swimming': Ben can swim, as shown in Descendants, during his date with Mal by the Enchanted Lake. **'Fencing': In Rise of the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel, Ben mentioned that he took fencing classes. His skills are later showed during the sword fight in Descendants 2. **'Croquet': Ben is seen playing this sport during Family Day. *'Driving': Ben showed this ability on Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel. He's also capable of driving a scooter. Roles Printed material ''Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel In the prelude novella, Ben is holding a council meeting in his father's stead. He is extremely anxious because it is his first time to hold a meeting. Despite encouragement from both Belle and Beast, the meeting goes horribly wrong and Ben loses his temper. In the end, Ben manages to find a solution to the problems and invites Grumpy to a one-on-one meeting, believing that it would be better that way and solves the situation peacefully. He then comes to believe in himself as the King that he is instead of the King everyone expects him to be. Like Mal, he has a mystical dream. In his case, he finds himself the Isle of the Lost where he meets a strange girl with mischievous eyes and purple hair. While singing ''Once Upon a Dream on his date with Audrey, Aurora's daughter, Ben realises the relevance between the song and his dream. This novella also explains the reason to why he feels pity for the children on the Isle of the Lost. Like them, he was born into his life, where everything was taken care of for him. Though he is proud to be his parents' son and the future king of Auradon, he also felt trapped and started imagining how it would feel like for those children, who even had lesser choices than him. This prompts him to make the decision he does in the movie. ''Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel In the sequel novel, Ben is now in charge of everything in Auradon as its new king. Reports come in from various regions of the kingdom where unusual earthquakes and storms are hitting, and more disturbingly, a dragon has been spotted in Camelot Heights. Worried that they are in danger, the wizard Merlin asks for a petition to use magic. Worried that it would cause consequences, Ben instead decides to visit Camelot and observe the situation. He eventually finds out the monster is indeed a dragon, and many suspect it to be Maleficent's doing despite her incarceration. Ben returns to Auradon just as Mal and her friends are leaving for the Isle of the Lost to investigate matters of their own. Ben allows them to leave, putting faith in his girlfriend. After much investigation, Ben finds out that the dragon is not Maleficent, but from something else. He and Grumpy then investigate the Dwarf Mines, where he accidentally meets up with Mal's team and the true culprit, Madam Mim. After a hard battle, Ben saves the day by pointing Excalibur (the sword borrowed from Camelot) at Madam Mim, forcing her to surrender. Merlin then sends everyone back to where they belong and seals the underground tunnel to keep the inhabitants of the Isle of the Lost from escaping. Rise of the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel ''To Be Added... Films ''Descendants One month before being coronated King, Ben informs his parents of his first royal decree: to give the children of the Isle of the Lost a chance at redemption and to attend Auradon Prep. To ensure the safety of both his plan and the citizens, he decides to start small with the children who need the help most - Carlos, Jay, Evie and Mal. He tries his best to befriend them and help, but his girlfriend Audrey is completely unwelcoming and takes him away, forcing Doug to take care of the tour and explanations. Having been told how terrible Maleficent was in the past, Ben attempts reaching out to Mal the most. Because of this, he begins developing affection for her. He also helps get both Jay and Carlos on the Tourney Team. Unaware of the kids' mission to steal Fairy Godmother's wand, Ben is tricked by Mal into eating a cookie laced with love potion. This actually proves helpful as this allows him to break up with Audrey and date Mal, finding they have more in common. On a date, Ben swims in an enchanted lake, which removes the love spell from him. After Mal attempts to save him, thinking he drowned, he tells her that he can see her inner goodness is stronger than the evil she's descended from. He continues faking being under the spell, but genuinely shows love for her as the day of his coronation nears. At the lunch of family day Ben introduce Mal at his parents has his girlfriend more at their shock, When Ben attend to assure Audrey'a grandmother Queen Leah that Maleficent still on Isle Of The Lost and introduced Mal told about his proclamation, she told him if he lost his mind, Chad also get involve and anger Ben and the villains kids. When Chad is spray by Evie with a sleeping potion the villains kids leave the lunch in a huff, Ben is accused and blame by his father to invited the villains kids to Auradon, because he knew that was a bad idea, after the altercation Ben tries to assure the group all will be better after the coronation. On the day he is to be crowned king, Ben rides in a carriage with Mal, who gives him a cupcake with the antidote in it. He eats it too early, then reveals that he has been free from the spell since their first date, and forgives her for her doing because he believed that she did not believe they could be together as long as he was with Audrey. When she questions whether he'd been faking his affection, he reveals that he's truly in love with her as he gives her his signet ring. During the ceremony, Jane steals the wand to use its magic to improve her looks. Unfortunately, the wand unleashes a blast of magic that undoes the barrier around the Isle of the Lost, allowing Maleficent to escape and attempt stealing the wand. Ben talks Mal into listening to her heart, which subsequently convinces the others to do the same thing. They all decide to be good people of Auradon moments before Maleficent arrives and freezes everyone in the hall. Ben is left happily surprised when the spell is undone thanks to Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos, who used their combined goodness to shrink Dragon Maleficent to the size of gecko. They then proceed to celebrate their victory in the courtyard of Auradon Prep. ''Descendants: Wicked World Season 1 Ben returns in the animated short series Descendants: Wicked World, voiced by Mitchell Hope who also portrayed him in the live-action film. Mal accidentally transports herself, Ben, Audrey and Evie to the Isle of the Lost with an unintended wish. While there, they meet Freddie Facilier, whom Ben recruits in Auradon after escaping the island. Season 2 To Be Added... Descendants 2 Ben will return in the 2017 sequel, set around 6 months after the first movie. According to director Kenny Ortega, Ben will go to the Isle of the Lost to find Mal after he realises she has left Auradon, after he proposed to her. Mal’s friends, Carlos, Evie and Jay, decide to go with him to help, but first they have to teach him their wicked ways so he can sneak around the Island without being recognised. Ben is the reigning King of Auradon and is ready to officially pronounce Mal as his “Lady of the Court.” Things seem to be going perfectly, but he doesn’t realise the kind of pressure Mal is under until she flees to the Isle of the Lost. Determined to make things right, he teams up with the other reformed villain kids to try and bring her back. There, his eyes are opened to what life is really like on the Isle of the Lost. Relationships Quotes Songs ''Descendants Solos Ben (Did I Mention).jpg|"Did I Mention" Group songs BeOurGuest-Descendants.jpg|"Be Our Guest" Descendant Cast (Set It Off) 5.jpg|"Set It Off" Descendants 2 Group songs *"Ways to Be Wicked" *"Chillin' Like a Villain" *"It's Goin' Down" *"You and Me" *"Kiss the Girl" Appearances Printed Material *Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel'' *''Return to the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel'' *''Rise of the Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel'' Films *''Descendants'' *''Descendants 2'' (upcoming) ''Descendants: Wicked World Gallery Trivia *According to the first film, his middle name is Florian. He is captain of the Tourney Team, and he is 16 years old. *Ben's Tourney jersey number is 7. *In the prequel book, at the end (which takes place right before the film), it is revealed he had a dream of being inside the Isle of the Lost and meeting a purple-haired green-eyed girl. Mal also had a dream, set near the Enchanted Lake and being "on the stone floor of an ancient temple ruin" with Ben (whom she never met or seen prior to the dream and meeting him). **The prelude also confirms that Ben takes after his mother more than his father; he shares her interests in books and reading, and is more of a gentle soul in comparison to his father. *Since Mal is 16 years old, and Ben is "turning 16" by the time he makes his proclamation, Ben is younger than she by a few to several months. *Near the end of the film, Ben reveals that he didn't fake his affection for Mal after the love spell was washed away in the Enchanted Lake. *In 'Disney Descendants Yearbook', Ben's "Secret Wish" is to live happily ever after while his "Not-so-secret Wish" is to see everyone in Auradon treated the same, regardless of what their parents have done in the past. *Similar to names of Maleficent and Mal using the root word "mal-" based off the word "malevolent" meaning "bad" and/or "evil", Ben's name serves as a contrast using the root word "ben-" from the word "benevolent" which means "kind and generous" like how the character is portrayed. *In the song,"Did I Mention", Ben says this line, "I dream of you everyday," which is a reference to ''Isle of the Lost: A Descendants Novel, since Ben had a dream being with a purple-haired girl. *Ben, Mal, Evie, Uma, and Freddie are the only characters to have solos. **Ben is the only male with a solo. *Ben's singing voice is by Jeff Lewis in the 1st movie, similar to how Drew Seely voiced Troy Bolton in the first High School Musical movie, instead of Zac Efron. *Mitchell Hope actually sang in the sequel, similar to how Zac Efron actually sang in High School Musical 2 and 3. References Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Descendants Characters Category:Descendants 2 Characters Category:Descendants: Wicked World Characters Category:Isle of the Lost Characters Category:Return to the Isle of the Lost Characters Category:Rise of the Isle of the Lost Characters Category:Auradon kids